Hail Cecilia Fire Thunder: A voice for women and the Indian family

There are too many places, in and out of Indian country, where the lot ofwomen has fallen tragically to the brawn and will of men and the ravishesof an alcohol-infested existence. Such has happened in too many communitieson too many reservations and in Pine Ridge, S.D., it has become as well apitiful and traumatic fact of life.

Thus we hail the decisive election victory of Cecilia Fire Thunder as thenew president of the Oglala Sioux Tribe of South Dakota. She defeatedRussell Means by more than 600 votes in her first attempt and his third toseek the tribal presidency. Both Fire Thunder and Means agree that thewomen’s vote put the first woman president of the OST over the top. FireThunder asserts the vote represents the women’s power coming to bear onPine Ridge. The tribe’s first woman president was quoted last week saying:“The women have played an integral role in keeping things going. Going toschool, getting degrees, working, taking care of the family (and winningthe election) was, that’s the value of the Lakota woman re-elevated back towhere it belongs.” (KOTA News)

Fire Thunder has dedicated much of her adult life to the defense of theIndian family and the struggle against abuse of Indian women and children.She is an advocate of the rescue and use of the Lakota language by theyounger generation. Marjene Ambler, in Tribal College Journal, wrote,“Lakota language advocate Cecilia Fire Thunder uses healing ceremonies tofree the tongues of people too ashamed to ‘remember’ their Native language.In many cases, these feelings toward the language have led to hating theirown skin color.” Indian Country Today columnist Suzan Shown Harjo wrote onour Web site edition recently about Fire Thunder’s work “to educate Lakotapeople about Lakota traditions of gender balance and the sacredness ofchildren and elders.” Harjo pointed out that Fire Thunder’s Lakota namemeans “Good Hearted Woman.” A practical nurse, Fire Thunder established anorganization, Sacred Circle, to address domestic violence. Her careerstands as testimony of the effort to help rebuild the self-esteem of womenin her community and nationally. She is just the kind of courageous andoutgoing woman leader that a people wanting to re-strengthen their nationfrom the ground up, family by family and tiospaye by tiospaye, could appealto for understanding and assistance.

The election of a woman to the nation’s highest office is a first for theOglala people and we hope it signals a new volition to confront the issueof respect and rebuilding of families for that embattled community. PineRidge is not alone as a community, not by a long shot, to be in thequagmire and tragedy of family violence. However, it could be the placewhere the body politic begins to heal itself, from the women outward. Theelection of Cecilia Fire Thunder – a grass-roots advocate to properlychallenge even Russell Means – represents just this kind of potential newmandate by the voting community.

We congratulate Cecilia in her victory and wish the outstanding womanleader all the perseverance and support she deserves. If the Oglalafamilies – including the strong family men – get behind their new leaderand work with her to build coalitions for political power and development,much could be accomplished. Not only from the federal government but alsofrom foundations and private donors, Cecilia is well suited, as a womanleader heading up a new administration, to bring home important benefits inresponse to the aspirations of the Oglala communities.

Most importantly, Cecilia Fire Thunder will be an inspiration to youngwomen to reach for leadership and pursue the path of self-esteem andself-dignity. From consideration as sacred and as centrally important tothe nations, Indian women have too often been denigrated and abused. Thisis the conclusion of the “Family Violence and American Indians/AlaskaNatives: A Report to the Indian Health Service Office of Women’s Health,” acompendium produced in October 2002, by Dr. Laura Williams, et. al. Sexualassault against Indian women is more than double that among blacks andthree times that of whites. Forty-six percent of violence and 70 percent ofcrime is alcohol related. Acquaintances (38 percent) and strangers (46percent) have the highest rates as perpetrators against Indian women.Family and intimates account for around 10 percent. In domestic violence,poverty and alcohol are the major factors.

We commend Cecilia for focusing immediately on the economic and financialtransparency situation at the tribe. She notes it is her first mandate andhas been the sore point about the Oglala Sioux Tribe for her whole base ofsupporters. The Pine Ridge reservation suffers from extreme unemployment –a severe lack of any work opportunity for most of the tribal youth andmembership. Yet, specific business and tiospaye-building initiatives aregrowing in capacity and are important pieces of the nation-rebuildingpuzzle. These are essential building blocks of any new campaign to tacklethe serious problems of Indian country. We urge the foundation world andthe NGO community to pay attention to Pine Ridge, its issues and problems;to support the work of both government but also of independentorganizations as they confront the problems of their people. Moreimportantly, we urge Indian country itself to identify ways it can createor stimulate employment opportunities for the Oglala Sioux Tribe and SouthDakota’s other tribal communities. It is time to end the despair andrestore opportunity.

Again, congratulations to Cecilia Fire Thunder and to the children, womenand men of the Oglala Sioux Oyate. May your path be well guided on the RedRoad to peace and prosperity.